The dog days of… September

As those who know me well know, I suffer from single gal syndrome (SGS) and therefore lavish extreme love and attention on my two little pug dogs, Pugsley and Honey-Bump. (I’m like a “crazy cat lady” with no litter box… well Bump is litter box trained… but I digress). Pugs being a flat faced, occasionally hard to breathe breed, hate the hot and hate the cold (it’s been determined 63 degrees is perfect pug weather), so I decided to take advantage of the cooler temperature and pack the “kids” up in the car and head down to the Kelley Park dog park off of Ralph Street in B’Spa.

I for one am a big fan of the spot. The Saratoga Springs dog park always made me nervous with its lack of fencing combined with its right off Route 9 location. Now, this may be fine and dandy for people with “real dogs” like labs who listen, come when called and balance your checkbook, but mine are off to the races once they see a butterfly, person, other dog, leaf, plastic bag, etc. and even after hours of puppy school, “come” is not a concept they have fully grasped.

It’s always a great time, never crowded, and has a decent sized fenced in area (MORE than enough room for wee pugs). Aside from its sort of wonky gate latches and secondary gate that doesn’t reach the ground, (see photo) it’s puppy heaven. Every time we pull up to the park, the pugs yip and pull me across the field in what can only be described as reminiscent to a frantic and unorganized Iditarod. The pugs had a brief but vigorous chase, lots of sniffs, a sunning themselves competition, and a few good barks at passers by; in other words, a glorious day!

She may be cute, but Honey-Bump is a rule breaker.

Things to know for first timers:

·There are no benches or chairs to sit on, so you may want to bring your own if you have one of those backpack chair contraptions (sitting on the ground at a dog park is pretty much a no no in my book).

·Bring your own potty bags. Oftentimes people leave bags in the area, but this is not a given.

·Bring your own water and serving bowl. The area is mostly sun-filled and dogs can get thirsty with all the chasing.

·The dog park is a bit of a walk across the field from the parking lot by the new playground. There is no way to drive up to the park, which may pose an issue to those with mobility problems.

·In the summer months it’s nice to cool the dogs off after a good run in the nearby Kayaderosseras Creek access. It’s pretty shallow by the edge with some current. I like to keep the pugs on leash facing upstream thus creating a nice little treadmill effect (this equals pooped pugs). Mine wear lifejackets of course, cause as mentioned prior, I have “sissy” dogs.